In 2019, Alya Abdelkerim left her job as a marketing and public relations specialist in Port Said, Egypt, to earn a master’s in marketing at Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business.
Abdelkerim knew she loved marketing and wanted to study at a school where she could garner theoretical and hands-on experience—hence her decision to enroll at Robinson. Throughout the one-year program, she developed the ability to leverage data, translate a marketing matrix into a strategic plan, apply psychology to marketing, and analyze consumer behavior. Abdelkerim also collaborated on a group project with Porsche; the assignment was to reach women as a target market.
Adjusting to life on the other side of the world wasn’t easy. The support Abdelkerim received as an international student helped her understand a new culture, deal with homesickness, and make friends.
“The professors, mentorship programs, networking events, and even counseling services made all the difference,” Abdelkerim said. “I would not have found my path or grown in the way I did without the Robinson community.”
Since her summer 2020 graduation, Abdelkerim has held down interesting roles with increasing responsibility: from October 2020 through September 2021, a marketing internship with a home staging business and from June through December 2022, a digital marketing stint with a manufacturer of analytical instruments for sectors including pharmaceuticals, energy, and chemicals. She relocated to her home country of Egypt for a marketing and communications manager position with an IT consulting company. And in May 2024, she assumed her current role as a marketing manager in Cairo for Danish company CrossWorkers, which links companies with professionals in IT software development, call center customer service, and business process outsourcing.
The mentorship Abdelkerim received at Robinson impacted her so greatly that she incorporated aspects of it into an internship initiative she co-designed and launched at CrossWorkers. Since a trademark of the Robinson experience is connecting students with real practitioners, she made sure to build that concept into the program.
“We created a 360-degree workshop for interns from human resources, marketing, tech, and client success to get facetime with department leaders. Instead of merely completing tasks, interns learn, ask questions, and get genuine career advice,” Abdelkerim said. “The program shifted from ‘fresh grads looking for a chance with European clients’ to an opportunity to network, learn, and feel supported in their career journey just like I did at Robinson.”